As for audio performance, iPods have never offered the most superlative audio experience, and the shuffle is the least likely to please sound snobs. This is primarily because of the awful bundled earbuds, but even if you choose to upgrade the 'buds, other factors are sure to rankle a few of you. For starters, there's no FLAC support, and at 2GB, AIFF and WAV aren't very viable options if you want to load the player with a decent amount of music. So, your best space-saving, high quality audio option here is Apple Lossless, a codec you can choose in iTunes (this primarily pertains to converting CD files, however, not tracks you would buy from iTunes ). Another annoyance is the lack of a 30-pin connector. Most iPod speaker docks use the connector to access a higher-quality audio stream than is available via the earphone jack, but seeing as the shuffle has no 30-pin connector, the earphone jack and its slightly compromised audio stream is the only way to listen to the shuffle through a dock or speakers of any sort.

This is all, of course, a bit nitpicky for the majority of iPod shuffle users—not many are going to obsess over audio quality on a $50 device primarily designed to be hassle-free and gym-friendly. If you're willing to spend a tad more money in order to get a better in-ear audio experience, the very gym-friendly Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 ($69.99, ) is a 2GB player built into far more secure, better-sounding earphones. It's not a sonic masterpiece, but a definite audio upgrade—without buying a $50-or-more pair of earphones.

File Support, Battery Life, and Conclusions Obviously, there is no video or photo support on the screen-less iPod shuffle, but it will play AAC, protected AAC from iTunes, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV audio files.

Apple rates the shuffle's battery life at 15 hours of audio playback per full charge. Our own battery rundown test results will be posted here shortly.

It's hard to criticize the iPod shuffle too harshly for its lack of display or missing video and photo support. Unlike the new nano, which lost its video camera and video playback capabilities, the shuffle is priced fairly for what it does. Fifty dollars gets you a player that syncs with iTunes, and for those who live in the Apple ecosystem and just want a cheap option for a portable media player, it's an affordable solution. If you don't care about using iTunes, however, you have better options. Check out the Sansa Clip+ ($39.99, ), our favorite budget player—it comes with a screen and its mid-range model offers twice the storage of the shuffle at the same price.

The inclusion of the click wheel is only a minor upgrade, as you could already skip tracks and adjust volume on the previous model via controls on the earbuds. But the shuffle doesn't need to be masterpiece—it's iTunes on-the-go, cheap, and easy. Coming from a company that aces "easy," but doesn't excel at "cheap," each shuffle update is a welcome addition.

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